This was our first night in Edinburgh (Sept 2024), having flown all day from SFO. This delightful…read morepub was a short walk from our B&B (check out the 23 Mayfield B&B), and we reserved a table which turned out to be a good idea. It was a Monday, and trivia night, so it was crowded. Good food and good beer, trivia was hard. (Name the fast food chain with most outlets worldwide? Name the top ten grossing Tom Hanks live action movies. That kind of thing - didn't need to be Scottish to play). A huge bonus that we didn't fully appreciate until a week into the trip - they offered skinny fries, which we yanks think of as fries, as an alternative to the thick cut chips that are included in every meal in every restaurant in all of Scotland. Okay, we have not been seeking out Michelin restaurants, but I sure long for some mashed potatoes with my chicken sandwich. Also, really friendly staff at the Old Bell (because we had literally just arrived, we didn't have two pounds in order to join trivia night; they said no worries, and just added it to our food and drink bill). And great ambience - traditional Scottish pub, with food and beer. Check it out.

Wonderful. Warm. Inviting. Our waiter/bartender happily…read morehelped us select beer and whiskey to start our journey into traditional Scottish cuisine. Every dish was artfully made. Smoked salmon so fresh that its firm flesh gives a good bite. The steak and ale pie is also sublime. The haggis is rich, savoury, and delicious. Finally, the sticky toffee pudding has such sweet depth and complexity that I became teary with joy,

Off the beaten path you'll find this fun eccentric pub. Each room with its own unique personality…read more This bar takes you to a different world. A world where you can loud and proud fly your freak flag high. As mentioned The Royal Dick isn't near the hustle and bustle of Old Town. It gives off a punky locals hangout kinda vibe. Absolutely worth the trek to get there.

It's 530PM and this bar is packed. We were very early for a tour so we decided to have our drink…read moreand wait in this lively establishment. Unfortunately, there was nowhere to sit! Luckily, a group left the bar stools and barrel table next to the bar and we were able to sit for a bit and do some people watching. The veterinarian school vibe was interesting and I liked all the weird artifacts "left behind" from the school. Each room to sit in had it's own personality and vibe. Very cool. The bartenders were quick and efficient and shockingly nice. In a place like this, I expect a bit of abruptness but here it was all care and concern. They make a mean gin and tonic too. It was delicious. It may have been one of the best G&T's I've ever had as a matter of fact. I only wish the gin they used in it was sold in the States. Yum yum!!!

The best aspect of The John Leslie pub, for me, has the be the staff. They are extremely…read moreapproachable, friendly and open besides serving you great pints quickly. The decor also contemporary, yet still manages to retain that feel of a traditional, old pub. The clinetele are almost all locals and they seem a friendly and eclectic bunch. This isn't a standard boozer with fruit machines and gassy, frothy pints of cheap lager, but a proper pub with a good atmosphere and a great range of alcohol. They have a wide range of real ales and beers as well as a decent selection of spirits, including specialist whiskeys from the Highlands. This a good pub with a hearty atmosphere - well worth a visit.

This is a quintessential old man's pub but is still really good fun. Despite the fact it is almost…read moreentirely populated by old regulars, you don't get that 'local pub for local people' feeling, you know the one where everyone goes silent and turns around when you walk in so you slowly back out before they gather up their torches and pitch forks. The old guys in here are all really friendly and with a combined age of well over 1000 they all have stories to tell and are quite happy to tell you them. That's not to say you will be mobbed by people narrating their life to you, just quite nice that they are a chatty old bunch. The pub itself is pretty standard really. It is inoffensive but nothing particularly stands out. There is a good selection of beers and spirits and it is moderately priced. If you are a poker fiend but can't really be bothered to trek off to Vegas every week, on Sundays there is a poker night starting at 7.30 with a £5 buy in. Not quite the same stakes as the huge casinos but it's a bit of a laugh nonetheless

I can vouch for this place, both as an artist and as a customer. Excellent atmosphere, excellent…read morestaff, organised, good bar, that isn;t cheap, but it's reasonable for a theatre style venue ,and some truly excellent shows on, and open until super late, so excellent for fringe goers. We watched "sh*t faced shakespeare" here, in december, and even then we weren't cold, although there are cute little booths around the edges, we sat near the front on the seats at the centre, comfy enough, and such a great place to enjoy any performance.

Just for atmosphere alone this place deserved 5 stars. From 28th of July until 28th August the…read moreSpiegeltent will be returning to George Square Garden's. After the clamour last year at it being changed to Hullaballoo, the Fringe organisers have reverted it back to its original format. And it is awesome. Open until 5 in the morning, this square is the best place to mingle as the sun begins to rise. Although the pints are ludicrously priced, and come in plastic cup, this adds to the festival atmosphere. It is invariably rammed, but this adds to the charm as you can always be guaranteed to bump into someone you recognise, or start up a drunken bromance with someone you just met - 'I love you man'...'No, I love you dude'...etc. It is like you enter into a different little world; the location in George Square Gardens helps displace it from the city, and it does feel like you are at a festival. Couple this with the carnivalesque element, you have a Cabaret show and an oddities mini-museum / exhibition, and there is always the most pierced woman in the world hanging about waiting to have her photo taken with you. If you come to Edinburgh during the festival, you have to come here. Forget the overpriced drinks, the atmosphere is incredible and to be honest most of Edinburgh is overpriced during the Fringe

Such a lovely and quintessentially British pub. It's not impossible to get seating here on a…read moreweekend, which is nice.

Very cool local pub recommended to me by the lads at the Edinburg Larder nearby. It has lovely…read morestained glass windows in the front highlighting the renovated wooden bar and period ceiling. I ordered a build-you-own scotch flight with help of bartender. It was cool to enjoy it with his guidance and check out the afternoon locals - including a piper dissembling and cleaning his bagpipes.

Endorsed by locals! A few block from the university. Multiple generational appeal with a kids…read moremenu, a breakfast menu, and two granddads spotted enjoying pints on their own on a Wednesday night. A few monitors for sports, very friendly service. Cards accepted. I will twist your arm in needs be to get you to try this place, and I think it likely you will thank me later.

The Greenmantle is a cosy pub in the heart of the Newington area of Edinburgh. It is a handy place…read morefor students to pop in for a pub lunch or for drinks in the evening as they offer student and snap fax deals. It is a very friendly and inviting pub and the bar has an impressive selection of lagers and ales and they select a 'malt of the month' which my friend religiously orders. They offer an impressive cocktail menu, including Cosmopolitan's and Mojito's, which are very reasonable at around £6. The Green Mantle is a very traditional pub and serves the usual pub food which is really delicious such as home made soup and burgers at a great deal of 2 for £7. Newspapers are always available to read with your lunch. The Green Mantel always have something going on in it every night, whether it is a pub quiz on a Tuesday night, live music on a Thursday or poker on a Sunday, they offer something for everyone. There is a also a big TV screen inside which is currently showing all the World Cup matches.

You don't get a spectacular number of students here and the average age is quite high, but this…read moreworks in this places favour, as despite being a student myself I do recognise how they change the atmosphere - take the Crags for an example. You don't get food here either, but for a beer and a chat or to watch a game it does the job and you get a more pleasant atmosphere than anything closer to town. It's not that expensive either so it's well worth a visit just so long as you're willing to be content with what it has to offer.

Swany's is an out of the way bar trying to avoid the student scene and succeeds. You won't find an…read moreitbox here or pool tables or a jukebox with the Black Eyed Peas (thank God) here but this is not what Swany's is about. This pub stays away from the limelight and the inside is just what you'd expect, quiet and relaxed. The regulars are generally quite old but they don't make you feel excluded when you come in and just carry on chatting. That is pretty much what you'd come into Swany's for, just a bit of a chat with a few drinks. The relaxed atmosphere makes it ideal for this but not much else. The beers are reasonable and averagely priced, nothing too special. There is a TV here is well, and this is when the pub livens up a little. It's an ok place to go to with a few mates to watch the footie but don't expect much more.

The newest addition to the 'Brass Monkey' family launched on Friday night, and it was a pleasure to…read morebe there to help them celebrate! This basement bar sits under 'The Argyle' in Marchmont, and has entrances from either side of the bar above. I know this place well, as we used to come and do the pub quiz here every week (although we've now de-camped to the Brass Monkey Leith quiz on a Monday!) and I've certainly never seen the bar as packed as it was on Friday! With it's low ceiling, comfy sofas, chunky wooden tables (some of them a wee bit wobbly by the way...that may need sorted!) and cosy candles, it's a great cellar bar and the music selection was varied and brilliant (Pearl Jam on a playlist always makes me happy!)! I also noticed a new giant television up one end of the bar, so I'm presuming there'll be great films on show as there are in the other Brass Monkey bars. The actual bar is small but there was a good selection of draught/bottled beers on offer, and all the spirits you may ever want. I heard tell there was a cocktail menu too, but didn't get the chance to try any on this visit. As for the toilets...there was only one and, because the bar was so busy, we quite often ended up in a giant girly queue. However, it gave us time to discuss how we were mightily impressed with the power of the new hand-dryer, and how lovely they smelled too! The Cellar Monkey is a perfect place to head for a drink, blether, and read of the paper on a cold winter afternoon, and it'll warm the cockles of your heart on a equally cold winter night! It doesn't quite have the same atmosphere that the other bars have, but I suspect that'll develop through time as they settle in and really make this bar monkey-tastic!

The newest addition to Marchmont's bar scene (ahem, get the sarcasm there?) and part of the Brass…read moreMonkey family, the Cellar Monkey is a welcome (and welcoming) haven. Hidden under the Argyle bar, the place is cosy with comfy sofas, wooden tables and candles. It has a TV in a corner near the bar. The bar itself is pretty small but there is a fine selection of imported bottled beers, a good selection of spirits and the prices are very much like the other Brass Monkey bars. When it comes to going for a drink in Marchmont, certainly the best place!

As a local pub goes, it's quite good. But I'm here mainly to review the Argyle Bar club sandwich…read more(which I used to LOVE). Guys, what happened? My first gripe is that they placed the sandwich on a panini press with the lettuce inside. Ughhhhh. This made the lettuce all soggy and inedible. Second, there also used to be cheese on the sandwich, which although not a typical item on a club sandwich, I thought this was an excellent addition. Third, what happened to the skinny frites? Perhaps it was the time of the week/year and they were out. Either way, my personal preference was the skinny fries, cheese and toasted bread. I'll still frequent the Argyle, since it is my local and as far as drinks and atmosphere go, it's great. However, i'll be hesitant to order my favourite club sandwich again. At least they have burgers!

The Argyle Bar really doesn't look much from the outside, and even inside it doesn't seem to offer…read morea lot. It is quite small with a lot of crammed seating and a little traditional wooden bar. The the stafff are friendly enough and the customers are usually locals who use it as their standard drinking hole. I pre-drank here with my flatmates a few months ago on a Friday night and, whilst it was busy, there wasn't the great, vibrant atmosphere that you get in some other smaller bars. They do have wall mounted TV screens which show the latest matches and the drinks are pretty well priced, but it's just not really my kind of pub.